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2.0, the next level

“One of us, one of us!”

Freak - Prince Randian

Some of you might instantly recognise that quote from the movie “Freaks” by Tod Browning (1931). I recently bought the new DVD release. It had been a few years since I first saw the film and I was pleased to find that it hadn’t lost any of its power.

I’ve heard people talk about the movie as a grotesque comedy – a freak show on film. In a sense that’s true as the cast contains real people with real deformities and handicaps. There’s much more depth than that, though. It’s a story about uniqueness, family, unconditional love and mutual respect. A beautiful film which shows the human side to something which is usually portrayed as inhuman: the travelling freak sideshow. Apart from that it’s also a landmark movie, a revolutionary production and one of the strangest movies ever to come out of an American film production studio. It was released at a time when movie censorship had only just kicked off in Hollywood and this movie in a sense slipped by whereas a few years later it probably would have looked entirely different.

You can read more about the film on Wikipedia and IMDB.

The new Warner Brothers DVD release also comes with a few really nice extras and my recommendation:

Freaks - Tod Browning (1931)

Commentary by David Skal
The author of the accompanying documentary providing a running commentary.
“Freaks – The Sideshow Cinema”
A nice documentary about the film with lots of background information.
Special Message prologue
A rolling text prologue that was shown in the cinemas before the film, warning people about the content and giving some background on the story.
Three alternate endings
A few variations of the film were released due to censorship boards cutting bits out here and there. These endings show a few versions, including the original uncut ending.

It’s generally available at major outlets.

Category: visual stimuli

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Dark Was The Night

Dark Was the Night is the twentieth compilation release benefiting the Red Hot Organization, an international charity dedicated to raising funds and awareness for HIV and AIDS.

Buy on iTunes or Beggars Group.